Week 1 Lecture 1 What is Sustainability PDF

What is sustainability? Part I: Life in the Anthropocene ES110 Fall 2024 semester Professor R. McLeman Department of Geography & Environmental Studies Wilfrid Laurier University ES110 lecture content is subject to...

What is sustainability? Part I: Life in the Anthropocene ES110 Fall 2024 semester Professor R. McLeman Department of Geography & Environmental Studies Wilfrid Laurier University ES110 lecture content is subject to copyright and may not be used for other purposes. 1 Overview of today’s meeting How are you? In the news… How this course works Challenges of the Anthropocene Sustainable Swedes 2 How are you? I hope you and your loved ones are well If anyone has created a discord or whatsapp group for this course, you can share it with other students by putting the link in the “Discussion” board on the course MyLS page 3 In the news… For years, teenage orcas have been tipping over boats (particularly small luxury yachts) off coast of Spain & Portugal The best explanation: it’s fun There is no record of humans ever being attacked in the water by orcas Orcas are apex predators: they can kill virtually anything in the water 4 You & me Let’s briefly talk about us If you want to learn more about me… Faculty of Science profile: https://www.wlu.ca/academics/faculties/faculty-of-science/faculty-profiles/robert- mcleman/index.html Google Scholar profile: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=CSNUGHEAAAAJ&hl=en TikTok: @professormcleman 5 How the course works – MyLS resources MyLearningSpace Everything for this course revolves around MyLS Visit course home page and read the syllabus, schedule Each week visit the site for news, updates Lecture slides are posted there 6 How the course works - lectures We meet in lecture 2x/week Each week is a different topic (except for climate change, it spans 2 weeks) 1st lecture each week = diagnose the challenge, 2nd lecture = solution pathways See the course schedule for topics and readings Try to do the readings before the lectures Lecture slides are posted to MyLS beforehand 7 How the course works - textbook We use an e-textbook, Our Environment: A Canadian Perspective, 5th Edition To access it, consult the instructions on MyLS Please DO NOT contact the professor for technical support; instead, email [email protected] or call 1-888-663-5491 8 How the course works - absences If you get sick… If you are not able to come to class, go to MyLS and click on the Zoom meetings tab You can livestream the lecture or watch a recording that will be posted within 48hrs afterwards If I get sick… I will send an email to all students to their myLaurier email account and post a News item on MyLS If I’m well enough to do so, I will give the lecture on Zoom from my home office 9 How the course works - assessments Multiple choice quizzes 3 quizzes during semester 1st is online, Friday, September 27 between 0800 and 1000H Second 2 quizzes are in class, in October and November (see schedule) For second 2 quizzes students in Sections A & B will receive different questions Quizzes combined are worth 20% of final grade Students count only the 2 best quiz scores, the lowest gets dropped 10 How the course works - assessments Midterm test, in class: (Section A = Nov 4, Section B = Nov 5) Worth 15% final grade Consists of short written answers Sections A and B will receive different tests 11 How the course works - assessments 2 written assignments (due Oct 4, Nov 15) Each worth 15% of final grade Explore key course concepts, practice useful skills Instructions in MyLS Assignment 1 = fibre inventory Assignment 2 = environment in the news Assignments, midterm test & final exam will be marked by team of 5 graduate student TA’s + prof 12 Don’t ask for extensions on assignment deadlines. Won’t be given. Ample time is given to complete written assignments, get them done ahead of time Late penalty = 3 marks are deducted from the grade awarded for each day of lateness If you are seriously ill or you experience a serious life crisis, the university has a process for documenting this (consult course syllabus) Do not send the instructor doctor’s notes, etc 13 How the course works - assessments Final exam Will be held in person in December (university will schedule this, date tbd) Worth 30% of final grade 14 Academic integrity I encourage students to set up WhatsApp, Discord groups etc for communications & study purposes, but DON’T use these during the online quiz (it’s cheating and easy to catch) DON’T use ChatGPT to write your assignments (which are structured such that using ChatGPT etc will be of minimal benefit and easy to spot) Both assignments will be submitted electronically and will automatically be scanned by plagiarism detection software Consult the syllabus for links to Laurier documents explaining what constitutes plagiarism and what happens when academic integrity is in question 15 Bonus mark opportunity There is an online training module on academic integrity on MyLS Do the module before Sept 30 & receive 2 bonus marks that will be applied to your final grade at end of the semester Go to MyLS home page, click on the Self Registration menu Scroll down to “online-academic-int-ug” with an html link reading “Online Academic Integrity Modules – Undergraduate”. Once you complete the module you receive a completion certificate with your name on it Upload a copy of certificate to the ES110 Assignment Dropbox before September 30 16 How the course works – social media Course hashtag = #ES110WLU My TikTok handle is @professormcleman I make short TT videos about key concepts for this course, am continually adding to the collection For this week, here are 2: Sustainability defined: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMj6R41pX/ What is the “Anthropocene”? https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMj6LUdT6/ 17 How the course works Questions? 18  Anthropocene = period when human activity replaced natural processes as the dominant force shaping the Earth - Section 1.1 of course text Trinity explosion, July 1945, New Mexico (source: US National Archives) Earth at night (source: NASA Earth observatory) 19  Artificial light at night confuses animals At inland locations, the night sky is brighter than ground/vegetation At coastal locations, the night sky is brighter over water than over land Insects, other animals use these distinctions to identify the horizon and orient themselves as they travel Artificial light disorients animals 20 Anthropogenic environmental change “Anthropogenic” = caused by humans Anthropogenic environmental change is accelerating at global, regional and local scales (section 1.2 of text) Key reasons are: Growing human population numbers Growing levels of consumption of resources Technological advances that increase our ability to extract/consume resources also have adverse side-effects (pollution, climate change, etc) 21 Global human population is soaring Each year we add >2 Canadas worth of people to the globe Most likely outcome = 10 billion For each person who dies, 3 babies are born 22  Cities are sprawling Mexico City Population 8,885,000 Image = Creative commons license https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sobrevuelos_CDMX_IMG_ 5982_(39488832615).jpg 23  Consumption Global extraction of natural resources, by category People are consuming more resources than the Earth can replenish naturally Source: UNEP https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.1 1822/44902/GRO24_Summary_for_Policymakers.pdf ?sequence=3 24 Technological advances: Huge benefits, huge impacts 25 Huge benefits 26 Huge impacts - Traffic congestion makes cities less livable - Tailpipe emissions include air pollutants, toxic chemicals, greenhouse gases 27 The search for solutions… Are electric cars a solution? They eliminate tailpipe emissions… …but don’t eliminate traffic congestion Large trucks, heavy equipment = difficult to electrify with batteries Electric cars are not a complete solution 28 Some of the environmental challenges we will explore in ES110… 29  Biodiversity loss: Mass extinction is underway, caused by humans Species extinctions since year 1500, by category of organism One-third of all known land vertebrate species are declining in numbers From: IPBES Global Assessment 30 https://ipbes.net/global-assessment Forests are disappearing Deforestation and land degradation rates are high, especially in low- income countries Image = CC 2.0 source https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Deforestation_of_Rainforest.jpg 31  How will we feed another 2,000,000,000 people by 2050? UN map showing countries with significant food insecurity Mountains of corn in Kansas, USA Photo by R. McLeman 32 Pollution Air and water pollution levels in many locations around the world exceed safe levels for human health Image = CC 4.0 33 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Air_pollution2.jpg Climate change https://www.instagram.com/gretathunberg/ 34 Source: NASA Urban environmental challenges (e.g. Municipal solid waste) Mountain of garbage, Waterloo, ON (Erb Street landfill) Photo by R. McLeman 35 Environment & human health Human physical health & mental wellbeing are closely tied to the quality of natural environment When we harm nature, we harm ourselves 36  Why infant deaths rise when bats die off: The hypothesis… 3. With fewer bats, insect 1. Bats eat lots of insects populations rise 5. People living in neighbouring areas are exposed to higher levels of pesticide in air, water 2. North American bats are dying in large numbers due to invasive 4. Farmers spray more disease from Eurasia called insecticide to kill the excess “white nose fungus” insects feeding on their crops 6. Infants & children are more sensitive to toxic effects of pesticides than adults 37 Is a sustainable future possible? Yes, but it won’t happen automatically. We need to make an effort. Fortunately, there are solutions pathways. Sections 1.3 & 1.4 of course text 38 In ES110… We identify the underlying causes of global environmental challenges + We identify solutions pathways to a more sustainable future 39 Typical portrayal of sustainability Environmental Sustainability protection Economic Social prosperity wellbeing 40 Discussion question for next class Is your home town “sustainable”? i.e. is it moving in the right direction in terms of economic prosperity + social wellbeing + healthy environmental? 41 42 Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm population: 1 million Toronto population: 3 million Sweden population: 9.6 million Canada population: 38 million 43 Two cities with similar climates Stockholm climate Toronto climate 44 Charts from climate-data.org  Stockholm, Sweden Sweden has made greater efforts to achieve sustainability than has Canada. 45 Photos by R. McLeman 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 How people get around in Stockholm 53 https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/insights/us/articles/4331_Deloitte-City-Mobility-Index/city-mobility-index_STOCKHOLM_FINAL.pdf How the City of Toronto markets itself Source: city of Toronto website 54 More common scenes in downtown Toronto 55 Journey modal splits compared Stockholm Toronto 56 https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/insights/us/articles/4331_Deloitte-City-Mobility-Index/city-mobility-index_TORONTO_FINAL.pdf So if we go back to the beginning… Which one hits all 3 targets? This? Or This? 57 A key difference between Stockholm and Toronto In Sweden, all levels of government deliberately plan for sustainability In Canada, not so much… Lesson: Sustainability doesn’t just magically happen by itself 58 Your Week 1 to-do list Read course syllabus & schedule Read chapter 1 in your textbook Read first assignment instructions, get working on it Do bonus mark opportunity Next lecture I will ask if you think your hometown is sustainable, on the pathway to sustainability, or moving in the wrong direction 59